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Biblical Horizons

Who Rules the Land? The Meaning of the Noahic Covenant, Part 1

It is commonly held in Reformed thought that the Noahic Covenant is given to all men equally. The Noahic Covenant concerns "man," not simply "church," and establishes civil government as an institution among "mankind" — that is the theory. Sometimes the Noahic Covenant is regarded as a "covenant of common…

by James B. JordanNovember 23, 1990
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Daniel

The Babylonian Connection

The Fall of Jerusalem we have dated (provisionally) at 3426 Anno Mundi. In current B.C. dates this is 586 B.C. From this point forward in Biblical chronology we are required to make use of prophetic numbers rather than historical ones. Jeremiah prophesied that the captivity would last 70 years, but…

by James B. JordanNovember 16, 1990
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Biblical Horizons

Taking the Situation Seriously

Evangelicals have in recent years become more interested in looking into their Bibles for wisdom to deal with modern problems. This is undoubtedly a welcome development, after many years of neglect. But there are dangers and costs as well. One of these is the tendency to fall into a modern…

by Peter LeithartOctober 19, 1990
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Hermeneutics

The Unseen Things

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). The famous definition of faith with which the eleventh chapter of Hebrews opens has received a number of different interpretations. The crux of the problem is the interpretation of the words translated in…

by Peter LeithartOctober 19, 1990
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Proverbs

Advice From a Sojourner, Part 8

15. The leech has two daughters, "Give," "Give." There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, "Enough": 16. Sheol, And the barren womb, Earth, that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, "Enough." We are assuming, at least for the purposes…

by James B. JordanOctober 16, 1990
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Biblical Chronology

Confusion Among the Kings

As we have seen in previous installments in this series, the Old Testament is quite concerned with chronology, and carefully records chronological data for our use. For this reason, we can assume when we come to the chronology of the kings of Judah and Israel that the writers of the…

by James B. JordanOctober 2, 1990

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Mixed Polity

John Milbank argues ( Crisis of Global Capitalism , 29) that societies tend to be mixed - combining a necessary hierarchical element with elements of democracy and oligarchy. He begins from the Augustinian premise that "sort of human association defined by 'the object of its love.' This permits us to…

October 6, 2017

Corporations and Contracts

John Neville Figgis ( Pluralist Theory of the State ) acknowledges that corporate persons exist. The key question is: "how is this personality to be conceived? Is it a natural fact, the expression of the social union; or is it merely something artificial imposed upon the body for its own…

October 6, 2017

Separation and Embrace

Writing in 1942, Christopher Dawson already recognized ( Judgment of the Nations , 52) the inner contradiction of the international principles embodied first in the League of Nations. "Self-determination" was the ideal for every people; yet at the same time technology was bringing nations into ever-closer intimacy. Dawson wrote, "The…

October 6, 2017

Measuring Musical Excellence

Philosopher James Ross explores “Musical Standards as a Function of Musical Accomplishment.” It’s a radical idea: We don’t measure music by anything outside music itself. Music is assessed and valued by standards that are internal to the performance of music. It sounds like relativism, but it isn’t. Ross insists that…

October 6, 2017

Motiveless Malignity

I've been checking the news more often than usual for the past week to find out if there's a breakthrough in the Las Vegas massacre. I imagine I'm not alone. When horror strikes, we look for explanations. We want to classify. Most often, we're looking for some kind of immanent,…

October 6, 2017

The Military-Athletic Complex

Stephen Beale argues that the NFL's real problem isn't protests against the flag but the league's militarization. He asks the question few have asked: Why is the anthem played at football games in the first place? According to Beale, "The singing of 'The Star Spangled Banner' was mandated during .…

October 6, 2017

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